Multi-caliber Bolt-action Rifle Modular Barrel Assembly
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Solution Overview
Problem
Shooters face the challenge of needing multiple rifles to accommodate various cartridge calibers for different hunting scenarios, which is costly and impractical due to the limitations of rifles being designed for specific calibers.
Innovation Solution
A multi-caliber bolt-action rifle design that allows for interchangeable magazine groups, barrels, and bolt groups, enabling the same rifle to fire multiple calibers by using different combinations of these components, each configured for specific calibers with matching dimensions and incompatible with others.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a rifle is designed for a specific caliber, then it achieves optimal performance for that caliber, but it cannot accommodate other calibers
Solution Approach 1:
The rifle is divided into separate modular components: a caliber-specific barrel assembly and a universal receiver assembly. The barrel assembly includes the barrel, bolt, and magazine, which can be removed and replaced as a unit. This segmentation allows the shooter to change calibers by swapping only the barrel assembly while retaining the receiver, thereby achieving caliber versatility without compromising the optimized performance of each specific caliber configuration.
Solution Approach 2:
The receiver is designed with universal features that can accommodate multiple caliber configurations. It includes a standardized breech interface, ejection port, and stock mounting system that work with different barrel assemblies. This universality allows a single receiver to support multiple calibers through interchangeable barrel assemblies, resolving the contradiction between specialized performance and broad compatibility.
2Reliability
If multiple rifles are purchased for different calibers, then each rifle is optimized for its specific use, but the cost and complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple caliber-specific barrel assemblies are merged into a single rifle platform by designing them to interface with a common receiver. Each barrel assembly maintains its optimized characteristics for its specific caliber, while the universal receiver integrates them all. This merging approach allows one rifle to replace multiple rifles, reducing overall system complexity and cost while preserving caliber-specific performance through properly engineered interfacing components.
3Manufacturing precision
If interchangeable components are designed with precise dimensions for specific calibers, then performance is optimized, but manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
Manufacturing precision is concentrated at the critical interfacing surfaces between components (barrel-to-receiver interface, bolt-to-breech interface, magazine-to-barrel interface) rather than requiring high precision throughout entire components. The caliber-specific dimensions are precisely controlled only where they affect functionality and safety, while non-critical surfaces can be manufactured with standard tolerances. This local quality approach maintains optimal performance while simplifying overall manufacturing.
Data Source
AI summary
A multi-caliber firearm has a breech sleeve connecting a barrel to a receiver and a stock. The stock includes a forward V-block and a rearward V-block. Each of the V-blocks defines a V-cut along a top portion and a through hole substantially aligned with the cross-sectional center of the V-block. The forward V-block extends through a cutout portion of the receiver and into the breech sleeve. The breech sleeve is fastened to the stock through the through hole in the forward V-block to provide a rigid connection between the stock and the breech sleeve. The receiver is fastened to the stock through the through hole in the rearward V-block to provide a rigid connection between the receiver and the stock.